


The Evil Men Do (formerly "Dick Grayson is Not an Asshole")

by LokisGhost



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Damian Wayne is Robin, Dick Grayson is Batman, F/M, Hurt Dick Grayson, Jason Todd is Not Robin, M/M, Past Joker (DCU)/Harleen Quinzel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-01-30 17:16:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21431854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LokisGhost/pseuds/LokisGhost
Summary: Bruce Wayne saw his parents die, but instead of going down the path as Batman, he recieved help. His sons, Damian (12) and Dick (18) throw on Cape and cowl unbeknownst to Bruce, after a traumatic day.
Kudos: 33





	1. Dick Grayson is an Asshole

**Author's Note:**

> ““The evil that men do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones.”  
(Shakespeare, William. "Act 3, Scene 2." The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Lit2Go Edition. 0. Web. . December 02, 2019.)

“Dick Grayson! You. Are. An. Asshole!”   
Damian drops his pencil. Shoving back from his desk, he strides out of his room and scowls at the older teen. “Tt!” Damian clicks his tongue.   
Dick startles slightly and spins around.  
“What is the meaning of this foolishness, Grayson?” Damian crosses his arms. “Not that I am disagreeing with you, but what is going on?”  
Dick laughs, rubbing the back of his neck and averting his gaze, seeming embarrassed. “I’m sorry Dami, I didn’t realize you were studying or that I was being that loud.”   
Damian narrows his eyes and scans Dick, “You didn't answer my question, Grayson.” The boy lets his hands fall and steps closer, poking Dick in the chest hard enough to make him flinch. “And I never mentioned I was studying… Why are you lying to me?”

“Ow!” Dick laughs awkwardly rubs the place Damian jabbed him, thinking, not looking his brother in the eye. “Well Damian, I was supposed to do something today and I almost forgot…” Dick brightens suddenly, looking directly at Damian for the first time, tipping his head slightly. “Maybe you can help me! Can you come with me for a while, D?”  
Dick Grayson is hard to say no to at the best of times and Damian just rolls his eyes and starts striding towards the stairs, turning around after a couple of steps, before Dick has a chance to even ask where he is going. “I assume the help you need isn’t here in the hallway. Where are we going, Grayson?”  
________________________________________________________

“You’re a child, Grayson.” Damian snarks, looking up at the older boy, he picks himself up off the floor, after freeing himself from the net stretched above him and dusting off his pants. “A literal five-year-old…”  
Dick merely laughs and leaps into the air catching the trapeze and hooking his heels against it, before launching himself outward, letting himself free fall dramatically into the net below.  
Damian reaches up to assist him out of the net, though he doesn’t really need the help. “You told me you needed me for something…”  
“And I did Damian! You’re the only one here today and I needed a partner to work some things out in the gymnasium!” Dick spreads his arms wide, winking as he gestures grandly at the structure Bruce and Alfred had agreed he needed years ago when it became clear he was too full of restless energy and needed an outlet of some sort.   
“Besides, with some work, you could be better than Bruce OR Tim, Little D!”  
Damian raises his eyebrow and smirks, crossing his arms. “Why not better than Dick Grayson?”  
Dick throws his head back and laughs, performing a dramatic flourish with his hands as he takes a bow. Looking up at Damian he gives him another cheeky wink, “Now that would be something to see!”  
“Come on, kiddo, time to hit the showers!” Dick throws his arm over Damian's shoulder, and jostles him, playfully, as they walk out of the room.

_________________________________________________________

An hour later Dick pops his head into Damian’s bedroom, knocking lightly on the door jam. “Hey Little D, you ready to go?”   
Damian, still drying his hair, raises his brows in mild surprise. “Go where? You needed something else?”  
Dick smiles and taps his fingers against the doorjamb, “It’s a surprise, just get something casual and make yourself pretty.” Batting his eyelashes daintily he chuckles, ducking out of the room as Damian balls up and throws his damp towel at the door. “Meet me downstairs in 20 minutes!” Dick yells over his shoulder as he makes his escape.  
Not long after, Dick slides into the driver’s seat, leaning into Damian’s personal space with a goofy grin. He ruffles Damian’s hair, noticeably excited as he shifts the car into gear. “Ready to go?” Sitting back, Damian ignores his older brother’s antics, “Where are you taking me Grayson?”   
Dick just laughs and speeds down the driveway at a, probably-less-than-legal speed. “You’ll see when we get there, Dami, you’ll see…”


	2. Send in the Clowns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A wild JasonTodd! has appeared! Prepare for battle!

The boy remembers what it was like, before…  
Before madness and a gun in a dark alley. He remembers, but not fondly. Life has never been easy and he hides in the dark corners, the last hope of a man who has never known much reason for it. Yet, stupidly, he holds out even if he doesn’t realize it.  
Five years ago, the man known as ‘The Joker’ disappeared, a short reign of terror over the streets of Gotham cut inexplicably short. His legacy a bleeding and broken 11-year-old, and the emotionally abused woman ‘Mistah J’ had trained to love him… 

Two abnormally pale figures lean against opposite sides of the alley, the tall man smiling in a menacing, not quite sane way, as he idly plays with the baseball bat he has slung behind his neck. He flicks his red hair back, a white fringe stark against the ruddy slightly overgrown mess.  
Harley pops her bubble gum once and smirks at something the young man says. Her face changing to concern when he suddenly puts a hand to his forehead and winces. She follows him down, reaching out to him as he crouches, hissing softly with the pain. “Fuck fuck fuckfuckfuck… nnnnnghhhhh" Jason squeezes the sides of his head, the bat clattering loudly as it skitters across the pavement and he looks up at his friend.  
Harley shudders slightly. There he is. The scared little boy peering up at her from the darkness. “H..Harley… “The woman puts her hands on his shoulders, steadying him as he wobbles slightly. “Yeah Baby J?”  
Harley draws back slightly as the smile slowly spreads back across Jason's face; the innocence once more hidden. “I hear the circus is in town, let’s go have some fun!”  
The sound of the wooden bat sliding across concrete echoes down the alley, followed by a motorcycle revving and peeling out, then only silence.

________________________________________________________________

“Haly's Circus!” Dick’s beams, inhaling dramatically, as if the air somehow differs between one step and the next as they walk past the main entrance. “Don’t get me wrong, Little D, I do love Wayne Manor, but I’ve really missed this place!” Dick spins slowly in a circle, breathing it all in.  
Damian’s step falters for a moment, then, suddenly, he grabs Dick's hand and pulls the older boy to one side of the midway. “Do you…” Damian pauses and glances at Dick’s face, seeing his confusion, turning to study the crowd, “Would you? Go back, I mean…” Damian sighs deeply and turns to face Dick,” Do you want to leave the manor and rejoin Haly's?”  
Dick smiles and pulls Damian into a hug, “No, Damian, you’re not getting rid of me that easily.” He looks down at Damian and ruffles his hair. “I would miss my family too much.”  
Damian allows the hug for a few moments and then pushes Dick away and walks stiffly farther into the crowd only a small satisfied nod to acknowledge the statement, and the fact he doesn’t drop Dick's hand.  
A small child squeals in glee as she pulls her parents between the two, jostling them apart, “Ooooh! Look mommy! Clowns!”  
A crowd passing between them, separates them further, and Dick waves at Damian, pointing him towards the brightly colored Fun House. He begins making his way through the crowds, towards the attraction when he gets a wave in return.  
Dick makes it there first and is leaning against the wall, out of the way and chatting up with the barker when Damian rejoins him.  
“Hey Dick! I found something you might want to see!” Damian tugs Dick to the side of the building, Dick waving to the man he had been chatting with as he is dragged away. Damian stops abruptly, pointing out a poster on the wall. 

________________________________________________________________

Dick reels slightly, holding his temple where the bat had hit him. Damian steadying him, as Dick tries to push his brother behind him. The old poster with "The Flying Graysons" between them as they glare at their attacker.

"Hey Pretty Bird! Is that you in the poster? Robin?" Harley grins and changes her grip on the bat, jabbing it into Dick's midsection, taunting him as he goes to his knees. "Such a pretty name, for a pretty little birdie!”  
Damian tries to lunge at Harley only to be tripped from behind, landing at her feet. Jason chuckles, “What do we have here, Harley? A hero?” Jason shoves Damian with his foot as he goes to stand beside Harley, knocking him back into the dirt.  
Dick reaches towards Damian, trying to pull him back but he can’t seem to focus well. “Damian, stop….”

Jason glances at Dick and then smirks down at Damian, “Damian? Like that priest from ‘The Exorcist?’” He takes the bat from Harley and pokes Damian in the side. Dick tries to stand, but just stumbles into the wall like a newborn calf and Jason glances at him, giving Damian his chance.  
“Aaaaaaugh you little fucker! You bit me!” Jason kicks out, knocking Damian away from him, instinctively. Stalking closer to the boy, Jason raises the bat slightly, only to have Dick manage to grab his ankle and pull him off balance.  
“I've had about enough of you two… “  
Dick sees the bat go up, but thankfully, doesn’t remember seeing it come down...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the kudos on chapter 1, hopefully this one is just as interesting for all of you. Again, I am posting this all unedited so things may change later.


	3. Don't Mollycoddle Damian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian waits for Bruce to show up at the hospital.

Damian sits in the waiting room, bandaged and anxious. His father is on his way, he knows that much, but being just a child, that’s all anyone has seen fit to tell him... He's already asked after Dick a few times, but after the last nurse had only coddled him and still told him nothing, he had come to the realization that he would get nothing from these fools.  
Pulling out his phone he notes the cracked and bleeding screen, but it still seems to work so he ignores it for now, opening his messages. He fires off a quick belligerent text to Bruce, asking him why he isn’t here yet, and then a terse reply to one of Dick's friends who had heard of the attack on the evening news.  
He makes a mental note to figure out how they got his contact information but for now he lets it slide. He's about to break down and call his father to berate him but both Bruce and Alfred rush in just at that moment, so he pockets his phone and stands to meet them.  
Catching sight of Damian, Bruce strides over quickly, looking his son over. Concern etched on his face Bruce looks around. “What happened? Where is Dick?”  
Damian tells Bruce in few words about the morning spent with Richard, about the trip to the circus. Pausing, he fidgets as he tells of the attack. “We stopped to look at a poster and then these two strangers were behind us…” Damian swallows back bile as he remembers, feeling ashamed that he couldn’t do more, that he has somehow failed the only people he really cares for. “I should have done something more. I apologize, Father.” Damian looks down and away, stiffening as Bruce kneels in front of him.  
“Do you believe that you could have done anything to make the situation better?” Bruce asks, hands on Damian’s shoulders. “You could have been seriously injured! I’m just happy you're well, Son.” After a moment, Bruce continues, “Have you heard anything about your brother?”  
Damian scrubs the back of his hand over his nose, definitely not sniffling. “These idiots will tell me nothing. They just mollycoddle and give inane platitudes,” Damian looks Bruce in the eye. “One of them offered me _**a cookie.**_” Damian sounds positively affronted, and a small smile struggles at the edge of Bruce’s mouth.  
Bruce coughs, trying to retain his seriousness. He nods and stands, pulling Damian to his side. “Let’s go find out what is going on, then." Straightening his coat Bruce strides to the counter, looming over the woman sitting there. “Where is my son?”  
A man, in a brown suit walks up and clears his throat before Bruce can get too far into his questioning. “Excuse me, Mr. Wayne?” The man flashes a badge and glances at Damian. “I need to speak to your son, please. We need information to find the criminals who attacked your ward. I felt waiting until you arrived would be best, or I would already be out with my officers looking for the suspects.”  
Damian sees Bruce weigh the need to find the attacker versus checking on his other boy. “I'd like to speak to him, Father. These people need to be punished and Richard… Well it should not take very long.”  
Bruce nods at the logic, though his brow creases slightly at the phrasing Damian used. He turns to the woman sitting behind the desk, who is eagerly collecting every word, having heard the Wayne name. “Is there an office or somewhere private where we can speak undisturbed, Miss?”

Dick's eyes flutter open and his groan turns into a cough. He starts reaching a hand towards his face to cover his mouth, only to have someone gently grab his wrist before it gets there.  
“Welcome back, Mr. Grayson… You had us a little worried there.” Dick looks up to the dark-haired young woman holding his hand, then his eyes dart around the room, trying to place his surroundings. “Sorry for grabbing you,” she continues, “but I can’t have you accidently pulling the NG tube out.” She sets Dick’s hand down and pats it absentmindedly, smiling kindly.  
“Wha…wh..whhhh?” Dick struggles, looking a little scared up at the woman.  
“You’re at Gotham General Hospital, Richard. I’m Leslie Thompkins, you seem to be having a little trouble speaking, which is not unusual in a head injury. I was just about to do another GCS test when you woke up, so bear with me. Leslie smiles at Dick as he nods, “Ok, eyes are open, so you get top score there,” Leslie winks at Dick, trying to put him at ease. “Can you tell me your full name?”  
“Ri.. rich ..rd.. Jo..hn. Grays ..n..” It takes Dick longer to work the words out than he likes, and frustration starts overcoming his fear a little by the end. He answers Leslie’s other questions though still not quickly, and he begins to realize that his voice sounds off, as well. He can’t seem to get any volume to his voice. A small noise escapes him, and Leslie looks concerned.  
“Is something wrong, Richard?”

There is a knock at the doorjamb, and Dick and Leslie both turn to see Bruce, Alfred, and Damian standing in the doorway. “May we come in?” Leslie glances at Richard and smiles, “It is up to Richard, as long as no one gets in my way.”  
Damian pipes up, a distrustful glare on his face for the overly friendly woman, “His name is Dick.” Damian sidles up to the other side of the bed, watching her, and doesn’t complain when Dick reaches for out his hand, looking him over. “..O… oh.. kay?” The older boy manages, after a struggle.  
Damian nods, squeezing Dick’s hand. “Are you?”

“Can’t.. ta.. talk.. lou..d… ‘r.. fas’..” Dick looks at the doctor, concern on his face. 

Leslie nods. “I noticed Ri..” her eyes flick towards Damian for a second, “Dick. We will have to do some tests to be sure, but I would venture at a guess that,” Dr. Thompkins touches the side of Dick’s neck, lightly, “you took a blow to the throat.” Touches his, now-shaved head, “and another to the head which may be affecting your ability to speak.” Her hand falls back to her side as she continues speaking. “The good news is, that this may not be permanent, you can work with an SLP.. Sorry, Speech Language Pathologist, and they may be able to assist you.”  
Damian stands absorbing this information, thinking as Bruce asks more pointed questions of the doctor, then looks at Dick, who is staring at the end of his bed, forehead creased with thought. Damian glances towards the foot of the bed as well and then a horrible thought crosses his mind. “Will he be alright physically?”  
Leslie looks at the boy, “He should make a full reco-…”  
Damian interrupts, earning him a small scowl from Bruce. “But will he still be able to fly?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if I'm very enthused with this chapter, let me know what you think. Next chapter will probably be a time skip, to get farther in the story. Just FYI.


End file.
